Oneshot: Stone Mask
by Ereana
Summary: Bella has lost everyone important to her. She hides behind a mask and shows nobody her emotions. She is now a top member of the Volturi Guard. Will someone break through her stone mask? Non-canon couple Bella X Demetri


**Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer and all the characters**

One-shot: Stone Mask

Bella walked lazily along the corridors, her eyes glazed and her posture slumped. The walls were decorated with priceless antiques probably worth more than Charlies house. This place was practically medieval. A small figure brushed by and she half turned to see Jane stomping off to her chambers. Her brother Alec followed soon after her. He gave her a brief nod before walking after his temperamental sibling. They both wore the standard black cloaks of the Volturi, as did she. Turning her back on the pair she continued down the hallway, her walk was unhurried and she kept a stone mask on, never showing emotion. How long had she been wearing it for? She heard them whisper about her in the palace. The beautiful statue with a heart of ice. None of them tried to offer her friendship any more, they had realized that it was useless.

There were only a few here whom she was slightly warmer with and they were more like acquaintances than friends. Alec was one of them. When she had first arrived here dripping with mud and blood, Aro had ordered Jane and Alec to look after her. Jane had left her once they had brought her to a room but Alec had lingered behind and actually tried to help her. They had mutual respect for each other and whenever he wasn't with Jane he would come see her. Jane was another story, the girl never missed a chance to show hostility but nowadays Bella just ignored her. Alec had told her that Jane resented her ability to shield minds. She didn't like Jane but she understood her. Jane had been cruelly hurt as a human and when she had got her powers she had never wanted to feel pain again. It had left her as sadistic and malicious as the ones who hurt her. But she couldn't hurt Bella which in Janes mind meant that Bella could hurt her, and part of her dislike stemmed from fear.

Felix was alright and probably someone she actually counted as a friend. He sort of reminded her of Emmett. When she had been turned he had helped train her how to fight. He was one of the few non-gifted members of the Guard but he knew how to use the weapons that nature had given their kind: strength, speed and ferocity. Her lip twitched slightly, he could be funny at times though she would never admit it. Despite the wall she had built around her he had pushed through part of it and had become someone whom she genuinely trusted.

A large wooden door loomed ahead of her. She had reached the throne room. Wondering what Aro could possibly want her to do this time? A slight frown marred her features as she stepped into the intimidating chamber. The room was actually quite full to he surprise, usually when he gave her a mission it was just her and the three leaders. Her eyes turned to them now confusion on her face. Aro was wringing his hands together, she sighed mentally reluctant to deal with him when he was like this. Caius gave her a glance before turning and whispering to Athenodora. Marcus was staring at her blankly but she saw the glint of warmth in his eyes. He had surprised her the most when she had first come here. Instead of ignoring her crying as the others had he had sat with her, not saying anything just being there. Which had been enough. He was the only one who knew what she felt like and she had learned how to wear her stone mask from him. Like Alec she respected him.

Crossing over to the three she heard Heidi and Chelsea laugh and giggle at her. They reminded her of Lauren and Jessica; two absolute bitches. She bowed before the three rulers and waited patiently for her next assignment.

"Bella, my dear so good to see you again. It seems you only visit us when we have something for you to do." he was shaking his finger at her. "You really should learn to be more sociable. Ahh but you always were a quiet thing as a human. Remember when we first met? You were hiding behind him." he finished sighing dramatically and closing his eyes as if he was reminiscing.

The jab was intentional and her fist clenched. He knew she hated thinking about her human life. Thoughts on her human life led to thoughts on_ him_ and his family, she still couldn't face it. Unwilling to provide him with a reaction she waited silently for her mission.

"Seems somethings will never change. Never mind dearest Bella I have a special mission for you today." he said. She bit down a smirk, every mission was "special" according to Aro. She wasn't sure what she felt for the Volturi leader. At times she hated him and wanted to throw him out of a window, other times she wanted to hug him for taking her in.

Renata appeared at his side. Her eyes trained on Bella. Renata: the physical shield of Aro. The tiny woman eyed her with suspicion as if she expected her to lunge at her master.

"It seems that a coven in England has attracted a lot of attention from the people. They may accidentally reveal themselves, and you know what things can go wrong if that happens. So we want you and Demetri over there to persuade them to be a little more...discreet shall we say." So that was it then. She nodded and finally spoke.

"I understand Aro. The problem will be dealt with." he smiled at her like an affectionate uncle.

"Thank you Bella. You and Demetri will leave in two hours, so pack anything you want to bring." she nodded and spun around to leave. As she walked by her eyes flicked to the corner of the room where her "partner" stood. She had hardly ever spoken to him and rarely saw him. He was the tracker. He could "smell" someone's thought and track them anywhere across the world. He was a lot better than James. He nodded at her his red eyes meeting her gold.

Her diet had been the one thing she had insisted upon. They had grudgingly agreed and she hunted just outside of the city. That had been how she had first met Demetri.

**Flashback (10 year ago)**

_Her teeth sunk into the deers neck and the creature fell limp at her feet. Licking the last of the blood she looked around. The Volturi had welcomed her which she hadn't expected, but she wasn't sure of her choice. Could she hunt down vampires year after year and serve under a ruthless leader? Was this going to be her entire life now?_

_Suddenly, she wanted to run. Run far away and leave everything behind her. The past, the pain and the coven she had tied herself to. Her feet burst into a sprint and she tore through the woods. Branches snagged on her clothes and face but she couldn't feel any thing but her legs pounding against the floor._

_Finally she stopped in the middle of a clearing. The sun was bright and the beams hit her skin causing her skin to glitter. It actually felt nice. She had never stood out in her human life but here, here she sparkled. Raising her arms she began to spin around in a circle like a little child. _

_Time passed and she remained spinning in the middle of a clearing. A laugh actually bubbled up and it echoed in the woods. She had almost forgotten what joy felt like._

"_Nice to see that you're enjoying yourself." a male voice cut through her joy and she stopped immediately, dropping her arms to her sides. Looking behind he she saw a male vampire standing there. He was a part of the Volturi, Demetri._

_He was leaning against a tree and watching her with a startling intensity. His lips twisted into a slight grin. She removed all emotions from her face and stared back at him. A silence sprung up between them and Bella would not break it._

_Sighing, he stood up straight and approached her in a slow stride. "So you are the new vegetarian recruit." the way he said vegetarian made it sound like a bad word and she actually felt a little irritated. That was unnerving she hadn't been able to feel anything for a while now._

"_What I eat is none of your concern." she retorted with a chilly tone. Allowing some anger to show on her face. He held up his hands in a sign of defeat._

"_Relax, young one. I was merely curious to see my new comrade. Felix has told me a little about you." her face softened a little. She liked Felix._

"_Well you've seen me now please leave me to finish my hunt." It was a lie, the burning in her throat had gone but she wanted to remain outside a little longer._

"_We both know that you weren't hunting, you were running." he said it plainly and Bella froze. How could he have known? He smiled at her again._

"_I'm a tracker, the trail you left was jagged and confused. It was leading away from your hunting ground and the city. Not to mention you left a number of broken branches on the floor. I've seen trails like that before. You were running." he said. Now Bella remembered that he was the Volturi version of a bloodhound. His gift allowed him to follow people's thought trails somehow._

"_I thought, you would have just followed my thought trail. Isn't that your gift." She said the last part slightly mockingly which again was unusual for her. The only time she showed any emotion was around Felix, she didn't know this male yet he got under her skin._

_He frowned a little. "Your shielding ability prevents that. So I actually have to follow your trail. Which is a pleasant change for once." Unsure of what to say next she turned away._

"_You can't run from everything you know." he muttered and she spun around with fire burning brightly in her eyes._

"_It is none of your business!" she snapped and he raised an eyebrow at her unexpected temper._

"_When one of my fellow Guard members is considering deserting I make it my business. I don't know what happened to you. But I do know that no-one can hide from their life. It always follows." a sad smile graced his features. "Trust me I've tried. Maybe this isn't the path you wanted but it's better than trying to survive on your own. One of the things that the Volturi does well is look after it's own." he said._

_Bella stood there staring stupidly at him. Could she trust what he had said? Sensing her indecision he held out a hand. She took it._

**End Flashback**

After that she had hardly spoken to him an occasional hello in the hallway and there had been times during hunts when she had felt someone watching her. She took great lengths to hide her trail so she knew he was the one following her. Often she went to that meadow and each time she felt a little glad that he had stopped her.

How did she feel about him. It wasn't easy friendship like with Felix or a deep respect like with Alec and Marcus. He made her feel. He had gotten past that stone mask somehow and there was something else lurking deep inside of her that she refused to look at. Maybe she should refuse the mission.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind she dismissed it. She had never turned down a mission and she had a 100% success rate. No irritating tracker was going to scare her off. With a jolt she realized that she was in front of her room. Pushing open the door she looked around at her area.

Plain and simple: No bed, a book shelf and desk, with a computer and small stereo. The one thing that was unusual were the photos on her walls. All of the other Guard members had been changed hundreds of years ago and could barely remember anything at all about their human lives. She could though. The photos reminded her of what she had lost but they kept her from turning into a monster. They kept her to the vegetarian diet.

Alice, Rose, Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle, Esme, Charlie, Jacob and of course Edward. They all stared back at her. Some smiling, others grimacing. All dead. Her fault. The pain rose sharp inside of he but she clamped it down and went to her desk to take the one thing she wanted. Opening the drawer she took out the charm bracelet with a diamond heart and a wooden wolf dangling off it.

Vampires couldn't cry but Bella wished she could do something to release the sorrow inside of her. But she had been wearing the stone mask for so long that she wasn't sure if she could still feel. A knock on the door broke her out of her depressing mind.

"Come in." she said in a bored cold tone which she had borrowed from Marcus. The door creaked open and her eyes widened as Demetri stepped inside. Seeing her confusion he shrugged.

"I don't have anything to bring, so I thought I'd wait with you. Is that OK?" Unsure she nodded and began to remove her cloak. She hated traveling in the thing. She folded it and put it in her small wardrobe. Underneath she was wearing a pair of jeans and a long sleeved blue blouse. He too had discarded the robe and was wearing a pair of black trousers, a white T-shirt and a black jacket.

He actually looked pretty good in that she noted before embarrassment rocked through her. She had to focus on the mission not on the way the material of his shirt stretched over his muscles. Uhh! If she had still been human her face would be traffic light red. Tearing her face away from him she pretended to busy herself by looking through her wardrobe.

"Why are you wearing that?" he had a slight Italian accent and she liked it.

Frowning she saw he was staring at her bracelet. "This? It's a memento from my past." She said and went back to looking through her clothes trying to figure out why she was noticing these things about him.

"Holding onto the past is a foolish endeavor." he responded and anger flared through her. Gripping the wood, she struggled to keep her voice calm.

"That's what you think and I don't agree." hoping he would just be silent she decided to see if there was a book she wanted to bring.

He scoffed. "If you keep a hold of the past you can never move into the future." He moved to one of the photos. It was off her and Edward smiling at her graduation. He tapped it with a finger and her anger increased. "These are useless, why torture yourself with them?"

Bella spun to face him anger burning in her eyes. "You have no idea what you are talking about. I keep them to remind me that I'm not a monster!" she hissed. A responding anger flared on his face.

"So you think us monsters?" his tone turned accusatory and her mask cracked even further.

"Don't twist my words you jerk. I want to keep a part of my past with me so I don't forget." her tone actually had emotion and she crossed her arms in frustration.

"Why don't you forget? It only causes you pain and has turned you into a statue. There are some here who do want to know you yet you shut us all out." he snapped and stepped forward.

Bella gaped at his remark, it had been said behind her back but never to her face. She raised a hand to slap him but he caught it in an iron grip. "Some here do care for you and want to see you heal and become whole." This was said in a softer voice which caught her off guard.

"I can never be whole. Don't you understand? Edward is dead! He was my heart and soul. When he died so did I" her voice almost cracked under sorrow. Demetri's eyes narrowed on her.

"Would he want you to be living like this?" he snapped and rage poured through her.

"You utter bastard! You have no idea what you're saying. Besides why the hell do you care? What gives you the right to say those things." her eyes felt like they were burning and her hand clenched into a fist. He stared at her and the emotion in his eyes scared her but also sent a shiver down her spine. It wasn't from fear. He laughed softly and with his other hand brushed a piece of hair out of her face. The action was tender and intimate. Bella was too shocked to move.

He leaned down to her ear and whispered. "I've cared since the first moment I saw you spinning in that meadow laughing." She was frozen now. The bracelet slid down her wrist and hit the floor but she didn't notice. Then he moved his face to hers and their lips met in a kiss.

Fire scorched through her body and she wrapped her fingers in his hair. She had forgotten what it felt like to be kissed. Her anger was changed to something else and she clutched to him desperately. For so long she had been alone and cold. He was warming her.

She pushed against his chest and they were both breathing heavily. He was staring at her and she at him. She stepped back scared at what had happened. She shouldn't have done that. But it had felt so right. He had destroyed her mask and she felt naked and exposed in front of him. Demetri made her feel again. That was enough for now.

She sent him a small smile and he grinned in return. His eyes were still wary as if he was afraid that she'd bolt. But she knew that he would find her even with her shield up. He would always track her down. Her smile grew wider and she actually giggled. "Well this mission is definitely going to be an interesting one."

**AN: This is my first shot at a one-shot and I know it's a non-canon couple but I like non-canon couples! This idea just popped into my head and I had to write it down. Please read and review. I'm not sure if I wrote this well. Sorry that I killed off the Cullens and I know Bella's a bit OOC. But I enjoyed writing this, hope you enjoy reading it.**


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